DATAS: Test Run

DATAS: Test Run presents new works by artists Tamara Kametani and fantastic little splash, developed during their artist residencies in Ljubljana.

The exhibition is part of DATAS: The Data and the Sovereign, an international art and research programme exploring how digital infrastructures, AI, and algorithmic governance impact personal and political sovereignty. In an age where big data corporations and algorithmic systems increasingly shape global political and social dynamics, DATAS uses the lens of art to challenge the normalisation of surveillance, data extraction, and digital control. Bringing together artists, theorists, and technologists from across Europe, DATAS investigates the erosion of sovereignty in the age of surveillance capitalism and technofeudalism.

In her work Greetings from Null Island Tamara Kametani focuses on the phenomenon of Null Island, a point in the Atlantic Ocean at coordinates 0°, 0°, where the prime meridian meets the equator. Despite having no physical landmass, Null Island has become a repository for misdirected geolocation data, errors, and digital glitches. During the residency in Ljubljana the artist explored this phenomenon as a potential site for data obfuscation and reclaiming digital agency by developing an application that allows users to digitally relocate their GPS coordinates to Null Island. By intentionally spoofing location data to this already saturated digital non-place, users contribute to a collective data camouflage, rendering their information indistinguishable and useless for commercial or surveillance-based exploitation. The work questions our growing dependence on digital services, the inevitability of data collection, and the possibilities for preserving privacy and civil liberties within increasingly monitored environments.

The collective fantastic little splash presents Infocry, a chorus machine for inauthentic actors’ voices. The installation enables visitors to observe coordinated disinformation narratives gathered from various countries, including Slovenia. Using AI-powered text analysis software (Osavul), the group identifies patterns in seemingly independent social media comments, revealing orchestrated campaigns often driven by paid actors rather than automated bots. Inspired by the Greek chorus, a foundational element of ancient drama and democratic expression, the work examines how synthetic and manipulated voices shape public emotion and political discourse today. During their residency, fantastic little splash collaborated with the local community to analyse the specific tones, tactics, and emotional architectures of inauthentic actors operating in Slovenia. The resulting work questions who speaks for “the people” in digital space, and how affective manipulation is weaponised to polarise societies and radicalise political processes.